Device for darning holes in knitted goods



Nov. 15, 1955 K. EIJLANDER EIAL 2,723,542

DEVICE FOR DARNING HOLES IN KNITTED GOODS Filed March 23, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet l -'u- B I '97 (0: s;-

98 38 CLZZZZZZZZZZZZII 23 24 O H 3 K 56 50 II as I INVENTOR KLA SS EIJLANDER JANNETJE EIJLANDER iww W ATTORNEYS Nov. 15, 1955 K. EIJLANDER ETAL2,723,542

DEVICE FOR DARNING HOLES IN KNITTED GOODS Filed March 23, 1955' 4Sheets-Sheet 2 95 N62 77 111mm mm LEL: :U 37 3i 5;

INVENTOR KLASS EIJLANDER JANNE TJE EIJLANDER ATTORNEYS Nov. 15, 1955 K.EIJLANDER ETAL 2,723,542

DEVICE FOR DARNING HOLES IN KNITTED GOODS Filed March 23, 1953 4Sheets-Sheet 3 -FIG.3

INVENTOR KLASS EIJLANDER JANNETJE EIJLANDER ATTORNEYS K. EIJLANDER ETALDEVICE FOR DARNING HOLES IN KNITTED GOODS Filed March 23, 1953 4Sheets-Sheet 3 .FIG.3

INVENTOR KLASS EIJLANDER JANNETJE EIJLANDER Bax M 4 M ATTOR NEYS 1955 K.EIJLANDER ETAL 2,723,542

DEVICE FOR DARNING HOLES IN KNITTED GOODS Filed March 23, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.4

FIG.5

INVENTOR KLASS EIJLANDER JANNETJE EIJLANDER BYMdM 1 M ATTORNEYS gear 33.The function of said United States Patent Klaas Eijlander and- JannetjeEijland'efiLuik, Berkliout; Netherlands Application March 23,1953,Serial No. 343930 8: tillaiins- (GIL. 66-4) The present invention.relates to a devicefor darning holes in knitted goods.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine in whichthe above. operation which so far is carried out by handcan beexecutedin easy Way without any knowledge of' the art.

The device according to the invention comprises a means for tensioningthe material to be darned, a mechanism for moving a needle up and downwhich is, preferably driven from. the bottom side and said needle havingan eye for guiding the darningthread, a mechanism for supplying andtensioning uniformly said thread, a means for guiding the. needle andsupporting thematerial", pins for picking up and releasing the loops. ofthe thread formed by the needle, a mechanism for moving the pins withregard to each other in a plan that is positioned perpendicularly to thedirection of movement" of the needle and a mechanism for reciprocatingthe pins in an axial direction.

In the drawings an embodiment of the device according to the inventionis shown by way of example.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation with a partial section.

Figure 2 showsa plan view with a partial, section.

Figure 3 shows a front elevation with a partial section.

The Figures 4 and" 5 show how a loop formed by the needle is picked upby a pin.

The figures show the machine frame 1' in which a wheel 2 is driven bymeans of a pulley 3*. Thiswhe'el 2 is fixed onto a shaft 4 rotatable inbearings 5' and 6. On the shaft 4 a gear 7 i's'a'tta'ched by-means of' akey. A second shaft 8 is rotatable in bearings 9, 10* and 11. A gear 12can be shifted on said shaft 8. In a position which is given in thefigure said gear 12 is loosely rotatable about the shaft 3 and mesheswith the gear 7. In another position which is not shown said gear 12 isconnected to the'shaft S by means of a key 13. The shifting movement inthe position abovementioned-is carried out by means of a lever 14rotatable about an axle 15. Said lever is connected in a movable way toa hub 16 of said gear 12 and projects through an aperture 18 in' theframe 1 in the shape of a handle 17. The bevel wheel 19 is integral withgear 12. Said bevel wheel 19 is adapted to cooperate with a bevel wheel20 which is fixed on the shaft 8, through a transmission gear 21.

In the one position of the gear 12' the shaft 8 will rotate in onedirection and in the other position it will rotate in an oppositedirection. The shaft 8 has at its opposite end a sleeve 22 containing agroove 23 which in a known way can move a thread guide 24 up and down.The rotation of the shaft 8' also operates the up and down movement of aneedle 25. On the shaft 8 there is a gear 26 which rotates the shafts 30and 31 through three other gears 27, 28, 29. The purpose of saidrotating shafts 30 and 31 will be explained afterwards. Further a bevelgear 32 is attached on the shaft 8. Said gear 32 rotates an uprightshaft 34 through another bevel shaft 34 will be explained afterwards.

2,723,542 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 The article tobe darned, e. g. a, sockor stocking, is shifted over atensionihg, means 3'5insuch a way that thehole is at the topside thereof and'in suchv a Way that the needle.25 canmove up andldown through the edge of said holev The tensioning means 35comprises a frame which at least is open at the top side. and at theside in which the arm 36.with. the driving arm. of the thread guide 24and the needle. 25 canbe. inserted. The article to. be darned isfastenedwith the aid. of clamping means 37 in a circumferential edge or. rim 39of the tensioning means. 35. The clampingmeans. 37 are pulled inwardlyby springs 39" in apertures of the base 41 of the tensioning means bywhich their U-shaped ends 42' can press in the circumferential rim 38against the article to be darned. Therefore, said article. is tensionedon the tensioningmeans 35. Saidtensioning means 3'5'comprises a base 41'that is carried'out' as a sledge, the edges 43 of which can movetransverselyin. grooves 44.. Said grooves 44 are made in a second sledge45 which is adapted to make a lengthwise movementwith its edges 46 onrails 47. Therefore, the tensioning means 35 with the article tensionedthereon is adjustable in two directions with regard to the needle 25which can move up and down so that all edges along the hole of saidarticle can be reached and worked upon. The distance of the bottomsledge 45 can be adjusted by hand. This is carried out by means of ahandle 48 which projects from the frame I. Said handle works on a pawlwheel 50 by means of'a pawl 49. It works in such a way that by onesingle movement of the pawl the pawl wheel can be shifted over 1, 2, 3.or 4'teeth, by which the sledge can be adjusted over a predetermineddistance with one movement. The pawl wheel 50 is attached to a shaft 51rotatable in bearings 52 and 53 in the frame 1. A gear 54 is attachedtothe shaft 51 Said gear meshes in a rack 55. Said rack forms a part ofthe opposite side of the sledge.

Further the sledge 45 is provided with a fixing means comprising aresilient finger 56 which projects in a row of teeth 57 integral withthe frame I. The possibility of an undesirable movement of the sledge 45is therefore excluded.

The movement of'the topmost sledge 41 is an automatic one inbothdirections. Said sledge 41' is moved by the: upright shaft 34'; saidshaft is provided at its bottom: end with an eccentric 53 which isrotatable in a frame: on the one end of a two-armed lever 60. Therotation of the eccentric 58' gives two movements to the other end ofthe lever 60; e. an oscillating movement in: transverse direction: andan up and down movement in longitudinal direction. For this purpose thelever 60 is somewhat movable lengthwise in. its pivot 61. The end 62 ofthe lever 60 is r shaped and rests on an inclined surface 63. At the end62 of the. lever 60 there is at the. top side a finger=shaped projection64 which is adapted to mesh in a row" of teeth 65 at the bottom side ofthe sledge 4 1'. The projection 64 is provided with some teeth whichcorrespond with the row of teeth 65. By the twofold movement of the end62 of the lever 60 the projection 64' is adapted" to describe a pathwhich has the shape of a flattened 0 and thereby the sledge 41 will bemoved stepwise; its edges 43 sliding in the grooves 44 of the sledge 45.As the teeth 65' are rather long ('vide Figure- 1)- the projection 64will do its work in all positions of the sl'edge45 relatively to thesledge 41.

The transverse stroke of the lever 60 is adjustable. The adjustment canbe carried out by shifting the pivot 61 lengthwise along said lever bywhich the lever arm 66' varies its length. By reversing the rotation ofthe shaft 34 the finger shaped" projection 64 will also make theO-shaped path in a different" direction. Therefore the stepwise movementof the sledge 41 will take place in a reversed direction.

Pins 69 and are attached to the shafts 67 and 68 and are adapted torotate therewith. Their means of attachment comprises sleeves 73 and 74shiftable on the shafts 67 and 68 along keyways 71 and 72. The pins 69and 70 are removable from said sleeves. Said sleeves 73 and 74 areprovided at their ends with flanges 75 and 76. The shafts 67 and 68 aredriven by gears 77 and 78 through gears 79 and 80. The gears 79 and 80are attached on shafts 81 and 82 which receive their rotational movementthrough bevel wheels 83, 84, 85 and 86. The bevel wheels 85 and 86 aremounted on the extensions 87 and 88 of the shafts 30 and 31. The shafts87 and 88 can be shifted in the bores 89 and 90 of the shafts 30 and 31along key-ways 91 and 92. Springs 93 and 94 are inserted in the hollowshafts 30 and 31 which press the extensions 87 and 88 out of the bores89 and 90 of the shafts 30 and 31. The assembly of the gears 77, 78, 79and 80, the shafts 81 and 82, the gears 83-86, the shafts 87 and 88 isshiftable lengthwise of the machine in such a way that either the onehalf is in front of the other half or vice verse. The two halvestherefore are mounted in shiftable frames 95 and 96 which are providedwith parallel tooth racks 97 and 98 between which a pinion 99 canrotate. The top tooth rack 97 is provided with a handle 100 whichprojects through an aperture in the frame 1. If said handle 100 is movede. g. in the direction of the arrow B then the assembly comprising theshaft 87, the bevel wheels 83 and 85, the shaft 81, the gears 77, 79 andthe shaft 73 with the pin 69 moves in the direction of the arrow B, theother gears, shafts and pin 70 moving in the opposite directionindicated with the arrow A. The pins 69 and 70 are always in the samehorizontal plane, however, also always in different vertical planes.

Additionally each of the pins 69 and 70 is adapted to make anoscillating movement in its own longitudinal direction, however, only ifthey are positioned inwardly with regard to the needle 25. Such aposition is shown in Figure 2 for the pin 70.

The reciprocating mechanism is carried out as follows: Helical springs101 and 102 are mounted between the inner walls of the frames 95 and 96and the flanges 75 and 76. Said springs therefore can pull the sleeves73 and 74 and therefore also the pins 69 and 70 inwardly. On the sleeves73 and 74 there are flanges 103 and 104 at the outside of the frame 99and 96. Said flanges being provided with cams 105 and 106. Said cams 105and 106 are adapted to cooperate during the rotation of the sleeves 73and 74 with the cams 107 and 108 on the outside walls of the frames 95and 96. On rotating the shafts 67 and 68 the cams 105 and 107 or thecams 106 and 108 shift over each other. They are pressed against eachother by the springs 101 and 102. However, the sleeves 73 and 74 withtheir pins 69 and 70 can never carry out an oscillating movement at thesame time since there are hook-shaped members 109 and 110 on the frame 1at both sides, said hook-shaped members gripping behind flanges 111 and112 on the sleeves 73 and 74 if the frames 95 and 96 are moved in thedirection of the arrow A. Therefore the pin lying at the outside (videthe pin 69 in Figure 2) will be arrested in its own longitudinalretracted position.

The free ends of the pins 69 and 70 have a larger diameter 113 and 114in which oppositely directed screwline-shaped grooves 115 and 116 areprovided, said grooves forming an angle with each other which lies atthe top side. The device described above operates as follows:

The article to be darned is shifted over the tensioning means 35 and isfixed in the circumferential edge 38 thereof by the clamping means37.The needle 25 provided with a thread goes up and down on rotation of thewheel 2 and forms loops 117 (vide Figure 4 and following) by retractingthrough the support 118. Each loop is picked up by the pin 70 whichoscillates at that moment. The needle being in its lowest position thesledge 41 automatically makes a short transverse movement by which thearticle on its support is shifted and by which the next loop is made bythe needle through the article on the right place The loops are shiftedfurther on the pin by its rotation. In the meantime the needle 25 hasmade a new loop which is treated in the same way. When the edge of thearticle to be darned is completely provided with loops then the machineis stopped at the end of said first course of loops and the pins 69 and70 are displaced with regard to each other by shifting the handle 100.The topmost sledge 45 is shifted in a forward direction depending on thesize of the loop over one or more teeth by a movement of the lever 48.Then the rotation of the shaft 34 is reversed and also the rotation ofthe pins 69 and 70. This is carried out by setting the lever 17. Whenthe wheel 2 rotates again the needle 25 moves through the freshly formedloops. If a loop is formed said loop is picked up by the other pin 69.As the pins rotate continuously in opposite direction and as their endsare provided with oppositely directed grooves 115, 116 they easily pickup and release said loops. The article to be darned is moved with regardto the needle 25 at the right moment by the sledge 41. Therefore theloops are placed on the pins 69 and 70 one next to each other. The loopsformed by the needle 25 are initially placed on the first pin and arefixed by the next course of loops after which they are shifted from thepin one by one. In the meantime new loops being shifted on the otherpin.

At the end of the darning operation a U-shaped crochet hook is broughtover the empty pin, said crochet hook being fixed into the sleeve bymeans of a bayonet catch, said crochet hook picking up the loops for thelast course. The last loop then is pulled through the last course.Therefore all loops are fixed if the end of the thread is pulled.

The machine is equipped with four sets of pins having a diameter of e.g. 1, 2, 3 or 4 mm. The straight portion thereof is somewhat thinnerthan the rest. Also four different kinds of needles are necessary,having different eyes.

The eye of the needle must be as close as possible to the point.

What we claim is:

1. A device for darning holes in knitted goods comprising a means fortensioning the article to be darned, a mechanism for moving a needlewhich is preferably driven from the bottom side, said needle having aneye for guiding the darning thread, a mechanism for supplying andtensioning uniformly said thread, a means for guiding the needle andsupporting the material to be darned, pins for picking up and releasingthe loops of the thread formed by the needle, a mechanism for moving thepins with regard to each other in a plane that is positionedperpendicularly to the direction of movement of the needle and amechanism for reciprocating the pins in an axial direction.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tensioningmeans comprises a housing with an aperture at its side through which theneedle will work upon the article to be darned, said tensioning meansbeing provided with edges along the aperture in which clamping means canpress said article under the pressure of springs.

3. A device according to claim 2, characterized in that the tensioningmeans is movable in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movementof the needle.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized in that the mechanismfor moving the tensioning means comprises two sledges which areshiftable with regard to each other, a driving means of the one sledgebeing coupled to the mechanism for moving the needle in such a way thatafter each stroke of the needle the sledge is moved over a predetermineddistance and in a predetermined direction, the driving means of theother sledge being adapted to be displaced stepwise over apredetermineddistance.

5. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanismfor displacing the pins in an axial direction is coupled in such a wayto the mechanism for moving the needle that the pin which picks up theloops formed by the needle carries out the axial movement, the pinsupporting the already formed loops and releasing same carrying out nomovement in an axial direction.

6. A device according to claim 5, characterized in that said pins rotateabout their axes in opposite directions.

7. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the pins areprovided at their free ends with a larger diameter with such a helicalgroove that the loops are moved thereon and thereolf respectively by therotation 'of said pins, the groove on the one pin being oppositelydirected to the groove on the other pin.

8. A device for darning holes in knitted goods comprising a means fortensioning the article to be darned, a mechanism for moving a needlewhich is preferably driven from the bottom side, said needle having aneye for guiding the darning thread, a mechanism for supplying andtensioning uniformly said thread, a means for guiding the needle andsupporting the material to be darned, pins for picking up and releasingthe loops of the thread formed by the needle, a mechanism for moving thepins with regard to each other in a plane that is positionedperpendicularly to the direction of movement of the needle and amechanism for reciprocating the pins in an axial direction, saidtensioning means comprising a housing with an aperture at its sidethrough which the needle will work upon the article to be darned, I

said tensioning means being provided with edges along the aperture ofwhich clamping means can press said article under the pressure ofsprings, said tensioning means being movable in a plane perpendicular tothe direction of movement of the needle, said mechanism for moving thetensioning means comprising two sledges which are shiftable with regardto each other, a driving means of the one sledge being coupled to themechanism for moving the needle in such a way that after each stroke ofthe needle the sledge is moved over a predetermined distance and in apredetermined direction, the driving means of the other sledge beingadapted to be displaced stepwise over a predetermined distance andcomprising a mechanism by means of which the direction of movement ofthe one sledge, the rotation of the pins and the movement of the needleare coupled, said mechanism being adjustable in such a way that thedirection of movement of the one sledge and the rotation of the pins canbe reversed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,642,283 Wieland Sept. 13, 1927 2,135,142 Obermayr Nov. 1, 1938 FOREIGNPATENTS 457,907 Germany Mar. 27, 1928

